


Human on Bionis

by snoells



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: I made this a year ago and forgot it existed, I might forget it exists again, and I might update, so now it's here, then I found it and thought it was funny
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:53:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25925446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snoells/pseuds/snoells
Summary: Some idiot gets stuck in the world of Xenoblade Chronicles.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 4





	1. Chp. 1

“Hello?”

…

“Hello?”

I don’t feel like moving. Maybe if I don’t respond they’ll go away. I’m pretty sure it’s a Saturday, so I don’t need to do anything. I don’t have anything scheduled with my girlfriend or Bruce today either. Yeah. I’m just going to lay here.

“Are you ok?”

Someone grabs my shoulder. 

I jolt up and scream.

“Ah, sorry!” The some guy wearing red sweater exclaims, scurrying backwards. “I just saw you lying here in this scrap yard and wasn’t sure if you were taking a nap or hurt or something.”

This isn’t my room.

Must be dreaming.

I ignore the person and look around. Narrow space between two cliffs. There’s a patch of grass with a few bugs. Dragonflies are nice. I have no idea who the guy who woke me is supposed to be.

“I just came here to collect scrap.” The guy says. “My name’s Shulk.”

I don’t say anything. Instead, I just watch him shovel through this pile of broken machines that was apparently sitting behind me. Normally this is where we’d transition to a different scene of the dream, but whatever. I just watch him dig through scrap for a while. He seems pretty invested in whatever it is he’s looking through.

Ok, I’ve been waiting here a while for something weird to happen and nothing has. The inaction makes this being a dream suspicious.

“How did I get here?”

I don’t think he heard me. I don’t repeat myself. I don’t trust him. What’s some random guy doing in the middle of nowhere while I still have no idea where I am?

I don’t know how much time has passed, but he eventually does look back at me.

“I noticed you don’t have a weapon with you.”

I’m silent for a moment. Why would I need a weapon? “…Yeah?”

“It’s dangerous to go out here without one.”

“…Is that a threat?”

“What?” He stiffens. “No! I just mean with all the monsters in the nearby area, you shouldn’t go around unarmed.”

“If someone’s going to shoot me, I don’t think there’s much having my own gun will do about that.” And I don’t think I have the courage to shoot someone if they were to do anything vile to me anyways, so having a gun wouldn’t accomplish anything.

“What makes you think someone would shoot you?!” The guy looks taken aback.

“You’re the one who mentioned it.”

“When did I say anything like that?!” He demands. “I said there were monsters in the area. Not that anyone would shoot you!”

“Ok, then what did you mean by monsters?”

He points towards a bunny-like creature with a giant tail. The tip looks like a hand, which is holding a club-like thing on it. That’s not a thing. Maybe I was dreaming after all. But that wait seemed too long and this is too cohesive. I know I tend to have cohesive dreams, but they usually don’t last longer than a minute or two without someone dying. Also, my dreams are aggressively boring, so the bunny creature is way to out of place for a typical dream of mine.

“It’s just a bunniv, so I don’t think you’d be in any real danger.” The guy explains. “In the future, though, I’d suggest carrying a sword or something if you’re planning on heading this far out from the Colony.”

“Ok.” What’s he mean by “the colony”?

“When I’m done here, we can head to the lab and I can make you a quick weapon.”

“Will there be anyone else there?” I ask. I’m not following some stranger into a secluded area. Especially not a stranger with a sword.

“Probably not.” He answers. “Dickson’s sometimes there, but he’s out this month.” 

“In that case, I’ll pass.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

He shrugs. “I was planning on being here for a while, I assume you’ll be fine heading back to the Colony on your own?”

“Sure, where is it?”

“Didn’t you see it on your way here?”

“No.” I’m not explaining how I got here because I have no idea. “Just point me in the direction and I’ll go.”

“Will you be able to handle the monsters on the road?”

“Those club rabbit things?”

“Huh?”

“Yeah, never mind.” Maybe going on my own would be a bad idea. Those are pretty buff looking rabbits. There’s only one route and I don’t think I’m going to be outrunning anything. “I think I’ll just go with you.”

“I can wrap up early.” The guy offers. “You don’t sound like you’re from here.”

“I don’t think I am. By the way, I forgot your name. What was it?”

“Shulk.” Right. Shulk. I have never heard that name before. I will forget it… I already forgot it. “I never got your name.”

“Orion.”

“Would you like me to show you around the Colony?” He offers. “It’s a fairly standard sized settlement, but it can be difficult to navigate if you’re unfamiliar with it.”

“Hmm.” I’m fairly sure this guy, at least, didn’t do anything to bring me here, so I don’t think I need to distrust him as much as I initially assumed. “Alright. When would be a good time to go?”

“Now works.”

“Sounds good.”

He leads me through the ravine area. There are several of the buff bunnies and a few jacked caterpillars stomping about.

“Who injected steroids into the wildlife.” I half-joke. Seriously, why do the random animals look like they could bench-press me? It is mildly horrifying.

“What are steroids?”

“I don’t know.” I do know. I’m just too lazy to explain. “Um, do you have to deal with these sorts of things all the time?”

“Yeah, basically.” He answers. “You don’t?”

“No. I generally don’t have buff bunnies running around.” I answer. “The bunnies are generally this tall.” I make a gesture with my hands signifying about a foot’s height. “And they’re definitely not holding clubs. Speaking of which, where are we? There is nowhere on Earth, at least that I’m aware of, with bunnies and caterpillars that look anything like those ones.”

“Earth?”

“Yes Earth. Where on Earth are we?”

The guy shakes his head. “I’ve never heard that term before, sorry.”

“You’re joking, right?”

“Why would I be?”

“I don’t believe you. You are joking.” 

“I really am not. We’re located near the top of the Bionis’s calf, inside a ravine.”

“A calf?” Like a cow? No. That’s dumb. I think about it for a second. “So, Bionis is an island or something? Based on the cool weather and the time of year, I’d take it we’re northern hemisphere.”

“What does the time of year have to do with anything?”

“It’s either summer or winter, depending on if we’re in the northern or southern hemisphere. I don’t feel like it’s chilly enough to be winter, so therefore we’re probably up north. I don't think we're as high up as Greenland or something, but I doubt we're near the equator either." And this is definitely not a good measurement for figuring out latitude. Assuming I'm even using the right word. "I don’t know. Where are we?”

“I don’t understand most of what you’re saying.” The guy says slowly. “First of all, what are you even talking about when you say ‘north’? Or anything about hemispheres, summer, winter, Greenland? You haven’t explained what Earth is either.”

“I’m not going to waste my time explaining this to you.” I’m seriously beginning to wonder if he literally has no idea what I’m talking about. Quit trolling, you’re gonna make me question my sanity. I’m not in the mood for that right now. “Ask someone else if you’re so confused.”

“I think I will.”

We step into sight of the colony. It’s rather small, only about three blocks at best. The entire settlement is suspended above a lake. It’s made of metal. The lake doesn't look super polluted despite the amount of rust it must be getting. Two towers extend from the bottom of the lake to the air, dwarfing the surrounding buildings. Neither of them could be called sky-scrapers, but they definitely look like they could pass for tall modern art. There’s a bridge connecting our location to what I assume is the colony. The entire area is inside a ravine.

“What do you think?” The guy asks, gesturing the settlement.

“It’s really small.”

“Small?”

“Yeah.”

“I know it’s not massive, but I wouldn’t call it small either.”

“I’m pretty sure my neighborhood is larger than this place. So yeah. Small.” I’m trying to think of what country would even have colonies. I know they were a thing in human history, but I don’t know about any modern ones. The guy sounds British. Is Britain still imperialist? I thought they were over that. Is Ireland a colony? “So, what’s the mother country?”

“The what?”

“Yeah, maybe ‘mother country’ was the wrong term.” Yeah, it probably was, I don’t know what it’s called. “But, like, which country is this supposed to be a colony of?”

“I don’t get what you mean by that.”

“Like, colonies?” I don’t know how I can make myself clear. “To support a bigger power.”

“Like the Defence Force?”

“No, not the military! Like, who are you colonizing in the name of?”

“Uh.” The guy doesn’t seem to follow. “The Bionis? Maybe? I think that’s what you’re talking about?”

At least the “Bionis” doesn’t sound like some established force, but I have no idea what that is. I’ll have to look it up later. I don’t have my phone with me right now. It’s probably still on my bed. Not being able to contact anyone is… concerning. I don’t really want to keep asking him stuff. I keep having to try to explain myself with every question and it’s starting to get exhausting.

The guy leads the way across the bridge.

“I think I’ll show you to Dunban’s house first.”

“I’m not following you into a random house.”

He looks offended and confused, as if I had just kicked a puppy with my face. How would that even work? Would my face be like a golf club or something? 

“I guess that’s fine.” He finally says. “I was going to introduce you to a good friend of mine. Her name’s Fiora. She’s probably at the house.”

“I’ll wait until after you’re done in there."

I still have no idea where this Colony 9 or Bionis is supposed to be. All I do know is I am not going to follow some random guy I just met into a house regardless of how nice he may seem.

“If you’re sure.” He shrugs. He knocks on the door.

“Come in!” Someone calls from the other side. The guy opens the door and peaks in.

“Hello.”

“What are you waiting for?” The lady giggles. “I was just making lunch.”

“Yeah.” The guy scratches the back of his head. “There’s someone else waiting at the door and she’s been refusing to come in.”

Oh right. I'm agender. I'll have to explain that eventually. I’d rather do it sooner than later, but I feel like I’m speaking to an alien every time I try to talk to this guy. Just talking to him somehow feels like coming out to assholes. Not that I think he's acting like one. I just want to know where I am so I can figure out how to get home.

“Oh?”

I hear footsteps. A lady with long orange hair greats me. She’s wearing a leather-looking crop top thing and a skirt. I have no idea where she got those things, but I don't care. She’s hot. 

“Hello.” She says. “My name’s Fiora. Do you mind telling me yours?”

“Orion.”

“Nice to meet you.” She smiles at me. “I was just making lunch. I can make some for you.”

“I.” Probably shouldn’t accept. The hospitality is suspicious. I wish I had someone I trusted with me. “Maybe we could eat outside?”

“Sure, I guess.” The girl thinks for a bit. “I need to keep the curry going. If there’s anything I can do to make you more comfortable, please tell.”

“I…” Hmm. “Yeah. I think I’ll be fine as long as the windows aren’t covered.”

“I wasn’t planning on covering them.” She shrugs, retreating into the household. The guy follows. I stare for a moment, inspecting the interior of the house. There’s nothing too dangerous in there. At least, not that I can see. I tiptoe into the building. Nothing bad happens. Sweater guy is already pulling out some dishes and setting them.

The girl notices me tentatively entering.

“See, that wasn’t so hard?” She chuckles. “I don’t think I’ve seen you before. What Colony are you from?”

“I’m not actually from a Colony.” I still have no idea where we are. “I’m from Seattle.”

“Never heard of it.” Sweater guy mutters. “Where is it?”

“US.” I suppose I don’t know some cities in other countries, so it makes sense that he might not know about some specific cities in America. Though, I figured Seattle was fairly known.

“As in the Upper Shoulder?” He puzzles out. “I didn’t know there were any Homs settlements up there.”

I give him a confused look. I decide not to answer. 

“What are you doing all the way down here?” The girl asks.

“I don’t know.” How much should I tell these people? “Um, where do the colonies get their names from?”

“There are twelve colonies and we numbered them.” The girl answers. “I figure that would be pretty self-explanatory.”

“I mean, where did the name ‘colony’ come from?” If this isn’t a colony, why are the cities called colonies? I think that’s a fair question to ask.

“Dunno.” She shrugs. “Never thought about it.”

“You said you’re from Bionis Shoulder. What’s it like up there?” The guy asks, changing the subject.

I never said I was from Bionis Shoulder. Uh… “It’s probably fine.”

“I guess with the mechon there’s no way to be certain.” The guy muses. Looking downwards temporarily. I don’t know what he’s talking about, but he looks like he might be upset. “When you left, how was it?”

“Seattle’s fine.” I mean, I don’t think this “Upper Shoulder” has anything to do with Seattle unless I’m missing something obvious, but Seattle’s fine. No earthquake and I’m not sure what else there is to worry about there. I guess there’s the stuff with the economy around housing being weird and bad, but I’m not old enough for that to concern me, so it’s fine.

“That’s good.” He looks relieved. I'm not sure why he would care, but good for him, I guess.

“I imagine I'd know if something bad happened.”

“Well, you know how it is.” The girl shrugs. I mean, I guess climate change is a problem with stuff like Australia burning to the ground, but I don’t see how this implies that Seattle’s currently in threat. I mean, obviously it affects the entire world including Seattle, but other than that really bad winter the other year, nothing’s happened too much there.

I shrug. “Yeah, global warming sucks.”

The two people glance at each other. I can't read their expressions very well. 

“On a less depressing topic, lunch is ready!” The girl announces, skipping over to the stove. She pulls the bin out of the flames and sets it to the side. “I’ll tell my brother we have a guest. I’m sure he’ll be happy to meet you.”

“Oh, uh, ok.”

I wasn’t expecting there to be a fourth person in the house. I watch her head up the staircase and then turn to look at the guy I came here with.

“You’ve heard of Dunban, right?” He asks. I think he’s trying to start a conversation. I have no idea who he’s talking about. I don't follow celebrities.

“No.”

“The guy who wielded the Monado in the Battle of Sword Valley?”

“No.” Also haven’t heard of the “Monado” or “Sword Valley” or anything about a battle. Was that a wrestling event? I dunno. Name sounds too poetic to be an actual battle. Besides, “Monado” sounds more like a sex toy than a military weapon. Not that it sounds like a sex toy either. Maybe it's just that sword is a euphemism for "penis" and I could see "valley" being a euphemism for vagina. My current mental image is a ginger haired bald guy punching John Cena with maracas. 

“How could you not know?” Sweater guy seems offended… maybe? At least he looked taken aback. “The Battle of Sword Valley? The final stand against the mechon one year ago?”

Nope, never heard of it. I have no idea what he’s on.

“Anyways, Dunban is Fiora’s brother.” He rubs the side of his head and looks downwards. I make a slight acknowledging sound. Fiora is the girl, right?

As if that were a cue, Fiora walks down the stairs with a guy hunched over her. He’s wearing baggy pants and no shirt. I couldn’t see it when they were walking down because his arm was obscured by Fiora’s body, but when they reach the bottom of the staircase, I notice the brother's right arm is covered in what looks like a combination of scars and burn marks. I guess the Battle of Sword Valley wasn't a wrestling match.

“Hello.”

“Uh, hi.” Am I supposed to comment on his lack of a shirt? I’d rather not have a man twice my age staring at me while not wearing a shirt. That is extremely creepy. I advert my eyes away from him.

“Oh, sorry.” He says, I see his left hand covering his right arm. “It is rather ugly. I can cover it if it’s bothering you.”

“Dunban.” Fiora, the girl, says. “You don’t have to do that.”

I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t like it. I’m not about to draw attention to the elephant in the room, but the fact that neither sweater guy nor Fiora are pointing it out confuses me. I’m getting the impression that either I’ve walked into a trap or I’m missing something. The man looks buff and it’s not like I’m an athlete, so I don’t think bolting will help the situation given either cause.

“I’ll start serving the food.” The girl announces. “You all just sit there.”

Sweater guy jabs me lightly to get my attention. “Cheer up. It’s not like he’s going to hurt you or anything.”

“Hmm.” I need to know what their intentions are. I look towards shirtless guy's sister. Would it be nosy to assume one of them's adopted? Probably. She’s just pulling out bowls. I’ll watch to see if she pours anything suspicious into mine. What if there’s something already in the bowl? I can ask to exchange bowls with sweater guy before either of us eat. I could also ask about what she made. That wouldn’t be an unreasonable request.

“Hmm. I think I’ll put on a shirt.” Shirtless guy announces, standing up. Thanks. The girl waits until he's upstairs to address me.

“You know, he’s not in good shape to be walking around.” She says. “I know those scars look nasty, but I don’t want him overexerting himself.”

“I don’t get how an arm injury would affect his ability to walk.”

“Those burn marks were caused by the Monado.” Sweater guy explains. “While his arm is the most scarred from overexposure, it’s taken a toll on the rest of his body too.”

“Oh.” I guess that makes sense. “What exactly is the Monado anyways?”

“Not sure.” Sweater guy answers. “I’ve been researching it for the last few years or so, and so far, all we’ve been able to determine is that it can manipulate ether to suit its abilities.”

“That doesn’t sound like much to go on.” Hmm. “By the way, what’s ether?”

He looks shocked. Baffled maybe? Did I say something wrong? A moment later he explains. “Ether is just stuff. Everything is made up of ether and ether flows through everything. It can be harnessed and manipulated. High doses of it can be dangerous, but it’s the foundation for all life on Bionis.”

“You say ‘Bionis’ like it’s more than just a country." I joke. "So, is ether, like, a state of matter or something? Or is it a type of energy?” I’m not a physics person, but I’m pretty sure what he described could be either. “Oh, or is it it’s entire own thing?”

“I don’t get what you’re talking about.” Sweater guy shakes his head. “Energy is definitely one application that ether can take.” 

“That doesn’t make sense.” I think about it for a second. “Eh.” Do I care enough to figure out what he's talking about?

“I’m not sure how else I could explain it.” He scratches his head. “It’s kinda just a thing that’s there.”

“Ok.”

Oh crap, I forgot to check if that girl put anything into my food! I look over towards what she laid out. It looks like curry. Nice! The girl walks over and sets each plate in front of each person. She sits down in her spot afterwards.

“Well, lunch is ready.” She cheers, clapping her hands together. “We can start eating once Dunban gets back down.”

“Ok.” I look at Sweater guy's plate and then my own. The two plates look near identical when it comes to their contents. “What’s it made of?”

“The food?”

“Yeah.”

“I used some special spices, but otherwise, there was some bunniv and standard stuff.” The girl explains. “If you like it, I can give you the recipe after we eat.”

“Hmm.” That doesn’t really explain whether or not the food could be drugged. I can’t eat this until I know for sure. “Eat this first.” I dump part of my plate into the middle of her plate.

“Huh?” She looks confused. “It’s the same food though?”

“Just eat it first.”

“Ok? I guess I'll eat it after Dunban comes back downstairs.”

“Ok. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome?” She glances at Sweater guy and then back at me. “Whatever makes you happy, I suppose.”

Footsteps can be heard from the staircase. shirtless guy walks downstairs. This time, he’s wearing a shirt. Why is the shirt super fancy looking though? He looks like he's in vampire cosplay or something. I’ve not commented on Sweater guy's or the other one's attire because it’s not that far off from stuff I’ve seen people around school wearing, but Shirted Shirtless guy so far either been shirtless or weirdly dapper. I suppose I prefer the ladder to the former, especially from a complete stranger.

“I’m sorry I took so long.”

“It’s no problem.” The girl replies. She turns to me and eats the food I dumped on her plate. “See? I ate it.”

“Is there something I should know about?”

“Orion wanted me to eat my own food before eating.”

“That’s odd.” He looks at me funny. I ignore him.

I can see steam coming off from the curry, so I hold off on eating it. The spoon next to the plate is also massive. Sweater guy's already started eating.

“So, Orion, what brought you to this colony?” The other guy asks. I literally just talked about this but ok. I guess it’s a fair conversation starter, but I don’t have anything to say.

“She said she doesn’t know.” Sweater guy responds, between the food going into his mouth. I probably should’ve said something about the pronouns. Hmm.

“That’s strange.” The girl says. “Where on Bionis are you from?”

“I’m not from Bionis.” The people around me blink, like I said some new groundbreaking thing. “I told you, I’m from Seattle, which is in America, not Bionis.”

No one responds.

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.” Sweater guy finally says. “I’ll ask Dickson if he knows anything later.”

“I’m confused why you’re confused.” I respond, bluntly. “America’s definitely a more known about place than Bionis.” Maybe I’m biased because I live in it, but I’m pretty sure America constitutes as a major world power. Also, we can’t be that far from it for me to have arrived here without waking up.

“I’ve never heard of it.” The other guy comments. “Where is it?”

“In North America.”

Actually, that answer might not have been very helpful.

“Uh, maybe you could tell me where Bionis is located?” If I know where that is, maybe I can say where America is relative to it.

“I don’t understand the question.” Tux man says. He scratches the back of his head. “The Bionis and Mechonis have always been surrounded by an endless sea. At least, to my knowledge.”

“Nah, there are other continents.” I hum. “Now I just want to know how I got here.”

“What do you mean?” Sweater guy asks.

“I was sleeping. Then I woke up. And now I am here.” I answer. “How?”

“That’s strange.” He says. He taps his spoon against edge of his bowl, one of his hands presses against his face. “Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're saying that you’re not from Bionis, you don’t know what ether is, you don’t know about Dunban or the Monado, and you just randomly wound up here?"

“Correct.”

“Would you like me to explain everything to you?”

“Sure.”

“The Bionis is the titan we live on. Long ago, it fought the Mechonis and the two killed each other. Now the Mechon, machines from the Mechonis, seek to wipe us out. The only weapon that can stop the Mechon is the Monado. It’s a divine sword the Bionis wielded several thousand years ago.” Shulk explains. “I’ve been researching it for several years now.”

“Ok.” I have no idea what he’s talking about and my brain processed absolutely none of that, but I’ll let him continue.

I check the curry. It’s cooled off a bit. I take a bite out of it. The taste is… questionable. Like the meat is really tough and stringy. I can’t quite describe the taste, but I also can't say I dislike it.

“You said you used rabbit or something to make this, right?” I look at the girl. I can’t say I’ve eaten rabbit, but this is definitely not what I expected it to taste like.

“No, I used bunniv.” She explains. “The meat along their tails is long and stringy. Also, their stomach fluids tend to mix well with the broth, especially when adding in the herbs and spices used to make it.”

“Oh, that explains the taste.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t know.” I shrug. “I just thought it tasted weird.” I eat another bite of the soup.

“Well, you’re eating it!”

“I didn’t say it tastes bad. Just weird.” It’s not unbearable, but I can’t say I’m specifically looking forwards to the next meal if it's still this. And, the procedure to make it also sounds… complicated. I know I wouldn’t be able to make it.

“Well, you try making something next time!”

“If you all want to get E.coli or polio next week, that's your problem.” I do not trust myself not to undercook the meat, even when making sushi or stuff where you don’t even cook the meat. I don’t really want to make something vegan either because I hate vegetables. Tolerate vegetables? Either way, I don't want a meal solely consisting them.

“I mean, if you think E.coli or polio tastes good, I guess I’ll try it?”

I look at the person who just made the food directly in the eyes, she doesn’t look like she’s joking. I chuckle nervously.

I hope I didn't just get food poisoning.

“You don't want polio.” I reply, averting my gaze. I thought polio was universal. Maybe I should be less sarcastic in the future?

…Nah.

“No. It’s fine. I just couldn’t tell if you were joking.” She says. “You were taking on the same tone Dickson takes when he’s saying stuff like that, but I couldn’t tell if you were referring to cooking ingredients or something else.”

“Oh. Uh, polio and E.coli are just diseases you can get from undercooking meat.” I guess there’s probably a different name for the two here.

“Never heard of them.” She shrugs. “Maybe they’re just not a Bionis thing?”

“Maybe?” I don’t know. “If you weren’t concerned about getting sick, why were you cooking the meat?”

“Oh, bunniv corpses normally dissolve in water and all the ether would just return to the Bionis when you tried to eat it, but cooking it prevents that from happening.” She explains. “Also, there was water involved in the curry recipe, so it would be a waste of time to go through the effort of skinning and preparing its tail if it were just going to dissolve.”

“That’s interesting.” I don’t quite get most of what she’s talking about, but sure. 


	2. Chapter 2

After lunch, Sweater guy decided it would be a good idea to show me around the Colony. The girl wanted to come too. I guess having two people show me around is better than one. I’m confused and concerned about the fact that she thought she needed to bring knives though.

“Where are we going?” I ask. I guess I’ll just let them lead me around. It’s a populated place and they haven’t done anything yet, so I think it’s safe to trust them. At least, for now.

I breath. I’m being an idiot. These two have been nothing but nice to me, and I’ve responded to that kindness with dismissiveness and suspicious. I shouldn’t blame myself entirely. This is a weird situation. But still, I’m definitely in the wrong here.

“Hey, are you listening?” The girl asks.

“No.”

That was probably rude.

“Sorry, can you repeat yourself?”

“I was going to stop by the military district to check on Reyn.” Sweater guy says. “I figured he might like to meet you.”

“Oh, ok.” They have a district of the town dedicated to their military. That’s strange. Also concerning. Sweater guy leads me across the bridge and into a concrete field. I can hear someone shouting loudly in the distance. I’d say this is pretty small for a “district,” but it’s also almost a third the size as the rest of the town.

“Why’s so much of the town military?”

“Mechon.” Sweater guy says. That word means absolutely nothing to me. I know it was mentioned during lunch, but I wasn’t paying attention when he was talking about them.

“What are the mechon like?” I ask.

“You really don’t know?” The girl asks.

“No.” Didn’t we just establish that I’m not from here? “How would I?”

“But the mechon are such a big deal!” She says. “They threaten our very existence!”

“With the massive number of atrocities going around, I’m not too surprised that at least one slipped under my radar.” It’s not like I’d be able to do anything if I knew, so I’ve been letting news slip under my radar.

“The Mechon have killed countless people! They’re a threat to everyone’s lives! Including yours! There’s no way something like that could simply go unnoticed!” The girl says, loudly. “My brother lost his arm fighting to protect all of us from them!”

“That sucks.” Maybe I shouldn’t have said that out loud. There’s probably a more sympathetic way of phrasing that sentiment. My second thought is ‘rip,’ but that somehow feels even less appropriate. I decide against responding to the frown she gives me. “Still, I’d like to know more about them.”

The girl gives me an upset look. I look at Sweater guy. I can’t read his expression.

“They mechon are machines.” Sweater guy finally says. “They’ve been hunting our race to extinction for as long as any of us can remember.”

“Why?”

“No one knows.”

“There aren’t any historical records or anything?”

Sweater guy shakes his head.

“Do you know the date the attacks started?”

Once again, Sweater guy and the girl shake their heads. Well that’s weird.

“I think they just want to use us as food.” Sweater guy says. Weird answer, but ok. I’m not sure how flesh would even be helpful for a machine?

“Sorry if I’m being a dick.” I breath.

“What does that even mean?” The girl asks.

“Dick?”

“Yeah.”

“It just means calling someone an ass, or a jerk. Mean?”

I mean, besides penis. That’s what it means.

“Oh.” She sighs. “It’s fine. I just can’t believe there’d be a Homs out there who’s never even heard of the mechon.”

“Homs?”

Sweater guy and the girl both look at me funny. I exhale and decide to phrase that as a sentence.

“What’s a homs?”

“Us.” The girl says. “Are you saying you’re not?”

“Yeah, I thought that was clear from the get-go.” I said I’m not from Bionis, so why are they still assuming I’m a Homs? Unless “Homs” is supposed to mean something other than resident of Bionis.

“You look like one.”

“We’re both humans, so of course we’re going to look similar. Your point?”

“…Human?” Sweater guy shakes his head. Wait a fucking second. “I think you’re confused. Fiora and I aren’t humans. We are Homs.” He points at one of those furry egg things. “Those are Nopon. They’re not Homs.”

“I assumed those were pets.” I mutter.

“Excuse me?” The girl glares.

“Look, I’ve never seen a walking egg before, and I’m used to small furry things being kept as pets.” I explain, I cross my arms. I hope that didn’t come across as too defensive. “It’s a good thing we got this cleared up now instead of later.”

“If you’re not a Homs and you’re not from Bionis or Mechonis, that makes me wonder.” Sweater guy says. “Is it possible you’re not even from this world?”

“I’ve been functioning under the assumption that this is Earth.” I answer. Though if we’re from different worlds, that would explain how both of us are casually mentioning things the other never heard of, and it would explain those scary club bunnies. Still that’s a large can of worms if to unravel if this isn’t earth.

“I have never heard of a location called Earth.” Sweater guy says. He turns to the girl. “How about you?”

“No.” She shakes her head.

Huh.

“So, either we’re from two different planets or this is an island that’s been untouched by the rest of the world. How are we speaking the same language?” Also, how did I get here in either scenario? And if this isn’t even earth, extra points to how are we even speaking the same language?

“I don’t know.” Sweater guy says. “But we’re on a titan, not an island.”

“Given that either option makes no sense, I’ll go with the separate planet idea because it would at least explain all the things here that aren’t from anywhere else on earth.” I look around. Yeah. I thought I saw an egg leading some dinos around like horses earlier. Also, all those bugs that were larger than my dog on the path here.

“Like what?” This time, the girl is the one to ask.

“The club bunnies, the big bugs, the furry eggs. That kinda stuff.” There’s probably something even bigger to point at that I just haven’t seen. A handful of animals doesn’t prove anything. Though the eggs might mean a bit more. If there was non-human sentient life on earth, we would probably know by now.

“You mentioned being from a different titan.” The girl piques. “What’s it like?”

“When did I say anything about living on a titan?” Unless “titan” is supposed to be a metaphor? “Um, I mentioned a bit about Seattle and America. America’s divided into 50 states and a few territories that aren’t states. Seattle’s a city in one of the states. It’s a pretty diverse set of environments. There’s some mountains, a beach, forest, plains behind the mountains, hills, and other stuff.”

“Are you saying that you don’t live on a titan?” Sweater guy asks. “Then what do you live on?”

“Uh, a landmass?” Hold on a second… “Are you saying _we’re_ on a _literal_ titan?!”

Sweater guy and the girl glance at each other. They turn to me and nod.

“How are we not experiencing, like, ten earthquakes right now?” If we’re on a titan and it’s moving, shouldn’t it be impossible to set up anything structurally stable? What magnitude level of earthquake would we even be looking at? The scale is exponential, but it would still almost definitely be higher than magnitude 10. Maybe 12? 13? I’m not an earthquake scientist.

“What’s an earthquake?” Sweater guy asks.

“The thing where the tectonic plates do the thing and the ground starts shaking.” That is not a good explanation. Do they even know what a tectonic plate is? Because I only understand the gist of it. “Um. They’re generally destructive.”

“The titans are dead.” Sweater guy explains. “Or at least, they’re sleeping.”

“I’m going to assume they’re sleeping, because if they’re dead, then shouldn’t their corpses have started decaying.”

“What do you mean by decaying?” The girl asks. How the hell do they not know what decaying is? What kind of fuck-world is this? Maybe I was wrong, and this is just a weirdly continuous dream. Whatever. I’ve already been going along with it.

“The thing where the corpses go away. I think it has something to do with bacteria and the chemical bonds holding the body together not receiving power to stay together or something.” I don’t know. I’m bad at biology. I had it once in eighth grade, did poorly, and never looked back.

“Oh, if that’s what you’re talking about, Homs bodies dissolve in water and return to the Bionis.” Sweater guy explains.

“I don’t think that counts.” Now I’m curious. “What happens if you leave a corpse out to dry?”

“Why would you do that?” The girl sounds confused and vaguely concerned.

“What if they died in a desert?” I guess it occasionally rains in the desert. Actually, maybe I shouldn’t be assuming that deserts exist here.

“The only desert we have is the Sword of the Mechonis.” Sweater guy shivers. “I don’t want to think about what happens to Homs who died there.”

“I mean, they probably just die.” I really should quit saying ‘probably’ when I mean ‘definitely,’ but I can’t help but account for that zero percent probability that I’m wrong.

As we walk across the bridges, I notice a Nopon leading a group of dinosaurs with them. I guess the dinosaurs are the pet. It’s the same egg we walked past earlier that I tried to ignore. Yeah, dinos are extinct, so this can’t be earth.

“Oh, do armus not exist where you’re from?” Fiora asks, noticing me looking at the line of dinos. I shake my head. “They’re really gentle. When I was a kid, I’d always try to pet one whenever a Nopon merchant travelled over with one.”

“Oh.” I don’t have anything better to say.

“How about you? What kind of animals do merchants have in your world?”

“Uh, stores have their stock set before you go into them.” I’m think of what to say. “We don’t really have animals for transporting stuff anymore. We mostly just use vehicles and stuff for that.”

“Oh, like aircraft carriers?” Sweater guy asks.

“Wait, you have aircraft carriers and you’re still using animals for trade?” What?

“The carriers are expensive to use.” He explains, scratching the back of his head. “I don’t see how they’d be good for business. Also, they’d probably be shot down or give away our location if someone tried to use them for commerce like that.”

“I… guess?” I’m not sure if he means shot down by the homs or shot down by the mechon, but I guess it doesn’t matter.

Sweater guy leads us to a building that goes a little underground. It’s lit with a yellowish glow. The type of lighting that gives you a migraine if you stay in it for too long. The lab’s really hot too. I’m not going to take off my jacket, but I can’t imagine spending long periods of time here.

“This is where Shulk spends most of his day.” The girl says. “Shulk, what are we doing here? I thought we were getting Reyn?”

His name’s Shulk? Right.

“We are, but his training doesn’t end for a bit.” Sweater guy, Shulk, answers. “So, I figured we could start off here and wait for him.”

“Ok.” The room’s covered in machines and papers. Sweater guy mentioned researching a sword, so this must be the lab. “Uh, you mentioned researching a sword or something?”

“Right.”

“Where’s the sword?”

“Wait, can you not see the Monado?” Sweater guy looks confused. “It’s right there. On that pedestal.”

“Pedestal?” He’s pointing to an indecipherable piece of metal. There’s a red thing on it that’s vaguely sword shaped. I guess. But that can’t _seriously_ be sword. How are you supposed to cut anyone with it? “Oh, I mean, that looks more like a control panel than a pedestal. Which, would make that red thing a sword?”

“That ‘red thing’ is the one thing standing between the mechon and us.” Fiora puts her hands against her hips. “Nothing else can cut them.”

“How though? It looks like a piece of plastic.” I mean, I could probably manage to cut myself on it. I’ve cut myself on glue before, so anything goes. But this “sword” is on the same level as glue in terms of cutability. “It’s all blunt edges.”

“This is just the Monado in its inactive state.” Sweater guy explains. “When activated, it opens, revealing a beam of light that can cut mechon.”

“Oh.” So, it’s like a laser sword? “If you have that kinda technology to begin with, why’d you waste it on a sword?”

“Huh?”

“Well, swords are super close-ranged and skill reliant weapons. If you were to have only one weapon that could fight against this force that’s been giving you so much trouble, why not make it a gun? Or automated?” Wait, also. “When you say, ‘beam of light’ do you mean, like, actual light or is there a defined length? Is it more like a laser beam?” If it was a literal beam of light, I guess that would give if infinite range.

Shulk takes a moment to think before answering my questions. “We Homs didn’t create the Monado, so I don’t know.” He scratches the back of his head. “And I don’t understand your second question.”

“Light is a ray: it goes out infinitely. So, when you say the Monado has a beam of light, are you saying it’s beam range is using light energy to deal damage or something else?”

“The beam is made of ether.”

“Didn’t you say everything was made of ether?”

“I mean, everything _is_ made out of ether. It’s just the Monado’s beam has more condensed ether. Different type.”

“Maybe if you activate it, I’ll have a better idea what you’re talking about.”

“Can’t.” Sweater guy shakes his head. “The Monado’s too dangerous.”

“I mean, if you just hold still, I don’t think anything bad will happen.” I shrug. “I just want to see the beam so that I’ll have an idea what you’re talking about.”

I look at the weird red sword. “Actually, wait. How do you even turn it on?” I don’t see any switches or buttons. Given, I haven’t touched it.

“You have to will it on.” Sweater guy explains. “At least, that’s how Dunban’s described it. In my experience, it’s activated on its own for no apparent reason, so I can only assume Dunban just has better control over it than me.”

“That makes zero sense.” Hmm. “Can I try?”

“What?!” Sweater guy looks somewhere between surprised and offended. “Are you crazy?! You’ve _seen_ Dunban’s arm, haven’t you?”

“Yeah. You said something about them being caused by overexposure to the Monado. I don’t plan on overexposing myself. Also, how did a sword even cause burn marks like those in the first place?” It’s a sword.

“The Monado causes a high current of ether to flow through the user upon usage.” Sweater guy explains. “Thus, creating an electric-like effect whenever someone tries to touch it.”

“Oh, so like it’s short circuiting?”

“Eh?”

“I only know basic physics.” Actually, I failed Highschool physics and had to retake the class. “But you know how when you have a battery go through a wire with no resistance, so the entire thing overheats and it’s sad?” Um. That is almost certainly not how that works. There was the thing with the charge or something and it goes through the wire and has the resistors. How does physics work again? I forget.

“Homs absorb ether at a pretty healthy rate.” Sweater guy explains. “So, if you’re saying the Monado is reacting to there being not enough ether, I don’t think that would be the case.”

“Um, if ether functions like electricity, that’s probably the problem.” I don’t know what I’m talking about. Electricity is what caused me to fail physics class. That and not paying attention. “I mean, I don’t know anything about it or the Monado. But, what conducts ether poorly?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, what materials does ether have a hard time passing through?” Uh… “Like, what’s the ether going through whenever you touch the Monado?”

“It goes through your bloodstream, according to Dunban.” Sweater guy answers. He doesn’t seem to be following. I’m not following what I’m saying either, to be honestly. But I guess if the Monado’s like a battery or something, then the bloodstream is the circuit. That’s gross.

“Have you tried adding resistors or something?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Just, something to slow down the flow of ether when it enters your body via the Monado.” I don’t know. Why am I making suggestions? Certainly, he’d have thought of something like this before.

“Um. How?”

“I don’t know. I think current has something to do with the distribution of charge.” I really don’t remember physics class. At all. “And resistance is important or something. It’s the denominator and stops the whole thing from breaking.”

“I can’t tell what you’re trying to say.” Sweater guy scratches the back of his head. “I don’t think attaching ether defense gems are going to do much to protect the wielder.”

“If this was electricity or something, I’d suggest a lightbulb or rubber, but I don’t really know what ether can do.” I’m trying to figure out how to articulate anything. “Is there an ether equivalent?”

“Ether users usually have an ether staff to manifest their ether from.” Shulk explains. “Those concentrate ether in one direction, I don’t believe they would help with the Monado.”

“I mean, if you can get the ether stored in the staff instead of your body and had some use for it there, that could be useful for something.” I don’t know.

“I think you’re misunderstanding how the Monado messes with ya.” A new voice says. I turn around. There’s an old guy wearing a vest and no shirt. He has long white jeans and a bandana. “It doesn’t add more ether to ya’, it alters the ether you have inside of you. Dunban’s ether happened to be similar to the Monado’s, so he was able to use it. Even then, the Monado caught on.”

“Oh. Does ‘ether’ somehow vary between people?”

“Yeah, didn’t they teach this kinda stuff to you in school?” The man asks. “Anyhow, my name’s Dickson. You are?”

“Orion.” I answer. “So, how many people have tried to wield the Monado?”

“What? Do you wanna go at it?” He laughed. “I won’t stop ya, but I will warn you that nearly everyone who’s tried it has either been thrown off it or sent to the hospital.”

“You’re not seriously going to try?” Sweater guy sounds shocked.

“It’s dangerous.” The girl adds. I forgot she was there for a second.

I shrug. “At this point, I’m just curious. From what I can tell, Dunban used it for a while before anything too bad happened, so it can’t hurt that much.” It’s a gamble on whether or not it’ll work, right? Besides, something about the concept of ether is suspicious. I’m starting to get the impression that, somehow, this “ether” isn’t just something I never knew about, but, rather, something I’ve never even interacted with.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Sweater guy says. He glances at the Monado. “While some people only got thrown around, other people have been seriously hurt by it.”

“Don’t worry, our medics know how to patch up damage caused by the Monado.” The boomer laughs, crossing his arms. I probably should listen to Sweater guy.

“If you’re serious about this, can we at least do it outside?” Sweater guy asks, eyeing his equipment. “I don’t want the lab to become a mess.”

“If we are doing this, is there a way to test my odds beforehand?” I ask. I don’t know what I’m getting into, but I feel like I’ll be disappointing someone if I say yes or no. Maybe this was a mistake?

“Yeah, there’s an ether scanner.” Sweater guy sighs. “We’d have to compare your ether signature to Dunban’s, but since you’re here, we can do yours first.”

“Ok.” Hopefully this’ll get me out of this before I have to risk injury.

Sweater guy sighs, but he sets up a machine that looks kinda like a voltmeter. He turns the machine on and turns to me. “Ok, hold this.”

He hands me two wire ends.

I hold the wires.

And wait.

I eye the machine.

Then Sweater Guy, the girl, and the boomer.

“…Is something supposed to happen?” I don’t see any reading or anything on the machine. “Am I holding this wrong?”

“No, you’re holding it fine, I think it’s just broken.” Sweater guy groans. “I’ll try it on myself and if that doesn’t work, we’re calling off you trying to wield the Monado.” That sounds good.

He takes the two ends I was holding. As soon as he does, the machine springs to life. There’s definitely data now.

“Huh?” He looks at the machine, and then to me. “I guess it wasn’t broken. But then, why weren’t you getting any readings?”

“Maybe I should try again?”

Sweater guy nods and hands me the bits of the machine. It goes dead as soon as it leaves his hands.

“I guess I don’t have ether?” I wonder what’s up with that. “Is that a thing that happens?”

“No. That doesn’t make any sense.” He shakes his head, concentrating on the ether reader. “Homs bodies are made up of ether. If you didn’t have any, you’d be dead.”

“But I’m not a Homs.” I say. “Maybe it’s different for me?”

“You aren’t?” The boomer scratches his chin “Then what are you?”

“A human.”

“I’ve never heard of that.” Sweater guy says. “If you’re a different species with different biological make-ups, then why do you think we look so similar?”

“I dunno.” I shrug.

“Are you certain that you’re a human?” The boomer asks, he looks serious.

What the fuck does that mean?

“…Yeah?”

“Humans aren’t native to Bionis.” He explains. “I didn’t think they even existed.”

“So… it’s a crap shoot on what would happen if I tried to wield the Monado?” Ok, maybe I should have my priorities elsewhere. Like, the guy looks like he’s thinking about something or any of what he’s saying, but my curiosity over this one thing and literally anything else are at odds with each other right now.

“Legend has it that humans went extinct before the Bionis formed.” The boomer ignores my question. “So how’d you get here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "And then Sweater Guy cut God in half. Cool." - How this fanfiction must legally end
> 
> I don't really have a plan with this. I just like saying dumb shit until things happen. :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I talk with Dickson and train with Reyn.

“Eh?” The last time I checked, everyone was alive. Yesterday, I was playing videogames while my absolutely alive family was doing their own thing. My sister was at the mall with her friends, mom was watching the news, and dad was at work. More concerning, if everyone’s dead, that would also mean by best friends were also dead. And that’s a problem.

  


“How did you get here?” The boomer repeats.

  


“Don’t know. I kinda just woke up here.” Actually, I don’t even really remember going to sleep, but it definitely felt like I’d been asleep for a while when I woke up.

  


“How did you survive?”

  


“By living, probably.”

  


“Probably?”

  


“I mean, if I were dead, I think I’d know.” I mean, how would we even be interacting if I were dead? But also, I have a hard time believing everyone died overnight. Or that this world was born yesterday. Maybe parallel universe if I want to be sexy with my explanations. I don’t think this is some kind of weird afterlife.

  


“So, what killed the humans?” I ask.

  


“Dunno.” The boomer crosses his arms. How useful. I can’t read the expression he’s giving me at all.

  


“So… what do you know about humans?”

  


“All I know is your kind predate the Bionis and don’t require ether to survive.” He says. Sweater guy and the girl both look confused. “What do you know about Homs?”

  


“Uh… you look like humans.” I’m not wrong, but this is the first time I’ve heard of them. “I still don’t know what ether is, so I can’t really articulate on that. I guess I’d need to see proof of a major biological difference between the two to conclude that these are two different species and not just us being confused.”

  


“You read zero on the ether scanner.” The boomer says. “And it wasn’t broken either.”

  


Broken ether? I’ll have to ask about that later.

  


“Maybe, but the idea that we can look the same and be entirely different species is… weird.” How did this evolution even happen? Where did the two species split off? Or if both species are entirely unrelated on a genetic level, that’s one hell of a coincidence. Or maybe this is an elaborate joke. I’m not sure why these people would have agreed to pull resources together to pull it on a stranger, but that’s making a lot more sense than what they’re currently saying. If this is a joke, I’ll wait for them to call me then flip them off. Less awkward that way.

  


“Well, you’re useless.” The boomer sighs. Sorry? I don’t know what I’m supposed to say to that. “Let’s get started on the basics. Do you even know what the Bionis is?”

  


“No.”

  


“Right.” He huffs. Not my fault if he’s upset with me. “There are these two titans: Bionis and Mechonis. They’ve been at war for thousands of years. You follow?”

  


“Sure.” I remember Sweater guy talking about this earlier. “How’d the war start?”

  


“No one knows.”

  


“Right.” Same sort of thing Sweater Guy said. A war would explain the military presence here. “So, what are you guys hoping to get out of the war?”

  


“Survival.” The way he says it sounds so firm and final. “The mechon have been hunting us down. Colony 9 is one of the only settlements left.”

  


“So, the mechon just want the territory?” That would make sense. “Or do they want something you have?”

  


“Doubt it.” He says. “The Bionis doesn’t have the sorts of resources that would benefit them.”

  


“Oh.”

  


“The Monado is our best bet against the mechon.” Sweater guy says. “Dunban was the only person who could wield it, but it cost him his arm.” He cringes and looks away.

  


“It just looks like a sword.” I glance at the Monado. Actually, it looks more like a sheath for a scifi sword than an actual sword, but my point still stands. I turn back to Sweater guy. “You mentioned something about light. Is that what makes it effective?”

  


“Yeah.” He walks up to the sword. He looks almost entranced by it.

  


“Am I interrupting anything?” Is that the buff guy?

  


“Reyn!” The girl says. Sweater guy turns around.

  


“Did you want anything?”

  


“Yeah.” Buff guy scratches the back of his head. “Ole square-tach wanted me to refill the ether cylinders later today. Wanna come with?”

  


“Sounds good.” Sweater guy says. “Right now, we’re trying to get Orion a weapon.”

  


“Uh. Could I come with you?” I ask. I don’t really want to be left alone.

  


“I guess.” Buff guy looks confused. “Any reason?”

  


“Not really.” I shake my head. “I was just curious where you were going.”

  


“Nowhere special. Just some cave.”

  


“When should we leave?” The girl asks.

  


“Half an hour at latest.”

  


“If you’re coming with us, you’ll need a weapon.” Sweater guy says. “Is there anything that you’re good with?”

  


“Not really.” I spent several years learning karate, but I’m bad at it. And it definitely wasn’t for legit fighting reasons. There were a few times my sister would get angry and try to hit me, but she was much smaller than me and not hard to block. “Maybe a polearm type weapon?” I’d rather not have a sword since that’s too in your face and overwhelming, but a polearm seems like something I’d be ok with. Maybe.

  


“I should have a spare lance.” Sweater guy says. “You can use that for now.”

  


“Ok.”

  


He goes into another room and comes up with a metal looking spear weapon.

  


“It folds like this.” Sweater guy explains. To demonstrate, he folds the spear on top of itself. “That will make it easier to carry.”

  


“Ok.” I take the weapon and fumble in trying to figure out where to place it.

  


“Maybe before we head out one of you could teach me a bit about how to use this?” I’d like to figure out what I’m doing.

  


“Do you really not know how to defend yourself?” Buff guy asks. He sounds surprised.

  


I shake my head.

  


“Sure. There’s a training ground outside we can go to.” He says. “But are you sure it’s a good idea to go to Tephra Cave with us then? It could be dangerous.”

  


“It’s probably fine.”

  


Maybe it isn’t. I don’t really care.

  


“If you say so.” Buff guy looks unconvinced, but he doesn’t question it any further. I follow him outside the lab. The lance is a little heavy, but I think I’ll be able to get use to it.

  


I guess my eyes already adjusted to the dark lab. I have to squint when I exit the building. Buff guy leads me to a concrete-looking place. I guess this is the training ground he was talking about.

  


“Try to hit me.” Reyn says.

  


“What?” I guess that’s one way to start. Wait, we’re still using actual weapons. “Wouldn’t that be dangerous?”

  


“Don’t worry about me.” He smirks. I don’t like this.

  


I pull the lance from my back. It takes a second to unfold it. Buff guy frowns.

  


“If this was actual combat, you’d have been hit already, just unloading your weapon.”

  


“Yeah.” I glance at the other two people here. I guess they’re just… watching? Are they waiting on me?

  


My hold on the weapon is probably terrible. I’ve held a bow staff maybe twice. I hold the weapon like that. I walk up to Reyn with the weapon. He has his shield up.

  


Do I have to disarm him? How?

  


Maybe I should think of this like sparring.

  


I try stepping around him. He repositions. That shield has to be heavy. If I knew what I was doing, I’d probably have the mobility advantage. Maybe I can use a fake-out like attack? Feinting.

  


I shift my body weight as if I were going to jump right. I can see his ankles slightly shift. I lunge right and immediate redirect to left. Like I predicted, he blocks to the right. The lance is still to the right, wait, shit. I did not think this through.

  


My left leg goes up and lightly roundhouse kicks him. 

  


The buff man lunges forwards. Instinctively, I try to elbow the shield. The attack tosses me back as if I were a paper bag. I shout as I fly through the air. When my body hits the ground, I fall over. I’m quick to get up. Don’t be so eager to close the distance. Wait and see what he does then counterattack.

  


“You okay?” Buff guy asks, his position is slightly more relaxed. Probably because we’re talking.

  


“Yeah, I’m fine.” I shout back.

  


“That kick was good, you should put more power into it next time.”

  


“Thanks for the advice.” I breath.

  


I run towards him, the moment he prepares to attack, I lunge right to avoid any potential straightforward counters, but I don’t attack. I steadily jump back and forth to hide my telegraphs. I notice Reyn’s muscles tense, he’s preparing for an attack.

  


His shield weapon thrusts forwards at a much faster speed than I was expecting for such a heavy looking weapon. But all things considered, it’s still pretty slow. I sidestep the attack. Conveniently, the positioning also leaves him wide open for my lance. I point the weapon an inch from his body.

  


“Not going to hit me?” Reyn asks.

  


“I don’t want to hurt you.” I shake my head. “We’re just sparring, right?”

  


“We are.” He says. “But you really don’t have to worry about it. Shulk can just patch us up when we’re done.”

  


“He’s a medic?” I thought he was an engineer.

  


“No, I just know a little bit of healing ether.” Sweater guy says. “You took some damage when Reyn knocked you over, I can heal that.”

  


“Ok?”

  


“You sound unconvinced.” Buff guy laughs. “Don’t worry, he’s done that with me countless times!”

  


“If you want, I can heal you now.”

  


“Oh, uh. Sure?” I mean, I’m not that badly hurt.

  


Sweater guy’s hands start glowing blue. Something’s going on with my muscles. I flinch. I can feel them tightening in unnatural ways. I start feeling nauseous.

  


A second later, I actually vomit.

  


“Woah!” Buff guy shouts. “I’ve never seen healing ether do that to someone.”

  


I look away. “I’m fine.” I guess this just means sweater guy can’t heal me if I get scratched up. Ugh, that fight’s going to leave bruises, isn’t it? Whatever, I’ll get over it.

  


“Maybe it would be better if you don’t go to Tephra Cave with us.” Buff guy suggests. I my expression doesn’t drop, but I’m definitely a bit disappointed.

  


“These runs aren’t too uncommon.” The girl says. “You can come on the next one.”

  


“I guess.”

  


“Don’t worry about it. These runs aren’t too uncommon.” Buff guy says.

  


“Sorry.” It’s not that I even particularly want to hike up to a cave with these people. I don’t know. Why do am I so interested in following these strangers around in the first place? This has to be coming across as off-putting. Don’t worry about it. If they have a problem, they can bring it up. And if they don’t, it’s not my fault. “How’d I do?”

  


“For someone who’s never seriously fought, you’re good at dodging. If it’s impossible to use ether to heal you, that’s good.” Buff guy says. He thinks for a minute longer. “You also seem afraid of drawing aggro. And you never committed to any attacks, so it didn’t matter when you broke through my defenses.”

  


“Right.” To be fair, I didn’t know about healing ether. Though, even if I did, I probably wouldn’t have committed anyways because I don’t really want to hurt or offend anyone.

  


“Maybe we should drop you off at Dunban’s house?” The girl suggests. Does she mean the half-naked dude?

  


“I’d rather not.”

  


“Where else do you plan to stay?” She thinks for a moment. “We could just leave you to explore the Colony on your own terms.”

  


“I don’t like being left alone.” This is impossible. I guess it’s not really a bit deal. I just need to get over myself.

  


“Maybe you could hang out with Dickson?” Sweater guy suggests. Which one was that?

  


“Uh. Sure?”

  


“He should still be in the lab.” Sweater guy points his finger towards the building. Right, the building with the poor lighting. “Reyn, Fiora, and I should probably start getting ready to go to Tephra. See you.”

  


“…Bye.”

  


I start walking towards the building. For some reason, the walk itself feels like walking through a firing squad. Or like I’m naked. I’m literally just walking to a building. I swallow and imagine music is playing. I have no right to feel anxious.

  


Whatever.

  


When I open the door, I see the lab is empty. I guess the guy isn’t here. I glance at the sword thing. Still red. Would Sweater guy mind if I looked through his notes? It would at least distract me from feeling like my gut is a rock. Not in a period type way either.

  


The desk is covered in various papers. I’m hesitant to displace them. I look at the paper at the top of the stack. The notes are too small and messily jotted to be easily deciphered. Funny that they’re right next to some cleanly drawn pictures.

  


A pink egg wearing a sundress walks into the room.

  


“Friend should not be here!” The egg says, flailing their wing thingies outwards. “This important research!”

  


“So important that it’s being held by a teenager?”

  


That came out cold. Actually, Sweater guy is probably just an intern or something.

  


“Bah! What friend even doing here?”

  


“Looking for the mustache guy.” I don’t remember his name. The guy sweater guy was working for.

  


“Friend mean Dickson?”

  


“I think so.” Sounds right, at least. Righter than talking eggs, at least.

  


“Dickson not here! Left just a little while ago.” The egg says. “Mefimefi not know where he go though.”

  


“Oh.”

  


“What friend’s name? Mefimefi not recognize them!” The egg bounces up and down. “Is friend new to Colony?”

  


“Orion. And yeah. I’m new here.” The egg didn’t assume my gender. That’s nice.

  


“Mefimefi can show you around!” The egg declares.

  


“Actually, someone else just did.”

  


“Oh. Shulk, right?”

  


I think?

  


“Yeah.” I break eye contact for a second. What to say? “He went to a cave place with his friend to get ether.”

  


“Friend mean Tephra Cave?” The egg asks. “Will take at least an hour to get back.”

  


“Oh.”

  


“Mefimefi look for Dickson.” The egg declares. “Don’t touch anything while gone.”

  


“Ok. Thanks.”

  


I watch as the egg leaves. Was Mefimefi her name or an expression? I glance at the red sword once more– the Monado. It’s rather interesting looking, definitely the most interesting looking thing in this room. Maybe Sweater guy’s teacher can tell me more about it?

  


It doesn’t take long for the egg and Sweater guy’s instructor to show up.

  


“Cylinders didn’t work out?”

  


“They said no.”

  


Mustache guy laughs.

  


“Not surprising. You look like someone who’s never been in a fight before.”

  


“I haven’t.” Not a serious one, at least. The image of buff guy’s confused expression when I said that flashes through my mind briefly. “Is it normal for people here to be able to fight?”

  


“In the military district, yeah.” The guy says. “But to the rest of the Colony, it’s not uncommon.”

  


“Because of the mechon?”

  


“Course.”

  


“So… what are they like?”

  


“Dangerous.” He answers. “They use ether sensors to track us down, making it near impossible to hide. Swarms of mechon will attack entire colonies at a time, burning them to the ground and eating those who weren’t lucky enough to escape. Nothing we do scratches them.”

  


“So, they’re weapons?”

  


“They’re machines.”

  


“So… weapons.” I conclude. “Do you know who’s controlling them?”

  


“Probably the Mechonis.”

  


“That’s a titan, right?”

  


“Yup.”

  


“I guess that makes sense.”

  


“Do you mind telling me a bit about humans?” The man asks, changing the subject. “I’m curious.”

  


“Ok.” I guess that’s fair. “What do you want to know?”

  


“How are you able to survive without ether?”

  


“I still don’t really know what ether is. And I’m not a biologist.” How do human bodies function? “There’s food, water, and air, and that just gets turned into energy. Or, there are enzymes or something that break apart the chemical bonds holding the food together and that energy gets used.” Um. Sweater guy mentioned ether being energy or something, so maybe food is the right comparison. “There’s food here, so I assume Homs also need to eat.”

  


“We do.” The man says. “But the food is to provide muscle and fat, ether is where we get energy from.”

  


“How do you get ether?”

  


“Everything has ether in it.” He explains. “But we mostly absorb it through the air. There are fluids with high concentrations of ether, but those are dangerous to touch because the ether gets too hot.”

  


“Oh.”

  


I guess that makes sense.

  


“Feel free to cut me open when I die, I guess.”

  


The man raises a brow. “Is that what humans normally do with their dead?”

  


“Not really.” I mean, I think most people care more about what happens to dead bodies than I do. Like, as long as they aren’t left out to rot, it doesn’t really matter. I glance back at the red sword. It really doesn’t look that dangerous. 

  


“Regarding that sword.” I begin. “I’d like to know more about it.” Fuck, what was Sweater guy’s name? “Uh, when we were talking about it earlier, it was mentioned that the Homs didn’t create it.”

  


“Correct.”

  


“Any idea who did?”

  


“The Bionis, probably.”

  


“How’d you get a hold of it?”

  


“The Monado is the sword of the Bionis. Legend says that it was used directly against the Mechonis.” He explains. “Fourteen years ago, I found it in ancient ruins on Valak Mountain.” 

  


“Mountain?” I thought they said this was supposed to be a titan or something.

  


“One of the Bionis’s arms.”

  


“If this was used to directly fight the Mechonis, does that mean there were people directly controlling the titans?”

  


“Maybe there were, maybe there weren’t. I wouldn’t know.”

  


“Wouldn’t that be useful to figure out?”

  


He doesn’t get a chance to answer.

  


I jump as a siren starts blaring.

  


“Is something on fire?!”

  


“Something’s sure about to be.” Mustache man mutters. “It’s mechon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to edit the next few chapters, but fair warning, they'll probably need some content warnings.


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